How Much Should I Rest between Sets?

Effort perception (which is how your body measures the intensity of the workout) is very important when having a long-term goal in gaining muscles. A hardcore workout that will make you throw up is acceptable once or twice, but most of the people cannot handle such an intense effort for a long time. Brazilian scientists have measured the effects of having a 1 minute break, a 3 minutes break or a 5 minutes break between the sets. The tests were made on both the upper and the lower side of the body.

 

Effort perception was similar when taking 3 and 5 minutes breaks, but it was much lower compared to 1 minute breaks. When breaks were longer the subjects were able to do more reps and to train more intense. After all, the 3 minutes break seems to be the best choice! It will allow your muscles to recover better (not like the 1 minute break), but it will also allow you to have a relatively short workout (compared to the 5 minutes break).  Source: The Journal of Strength and Conditioning, 25: 3157-3162, 2011.

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5 Tips to Get even Bigger!

Cardio or Weights? Which one to do first?
Weight Training Reduces the Negative Effects of High Protein Diets

Article by Craig Wilson

How to Plan a Successful Workout

Most of the athletes have good days when they are full of strength and vitality but also bad days when they barely have enough energy to finish their usual workout. Are the hormonal changes that appear during the day responsible for these variations in performance?

The scientists from New Zealand and Australia discovered that the daily temperature variations of the body, but not those of testosterone and cortisol are influencing the performance on some exercises like the squats. The temperature of the body varies during the day and reaches the highest levels at the end of the afternoon. This time of the day is the most favorable for achieving top performance.

So when you choose the time of the workout you have to put in balance the following two elements: performance and coherence (the possibility of missing a workout). But of course this is just one of the ingredients of a successful workout... (The Journal of Strength and Conditioning 25: 1538-1545, 2011)

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12 Reasons Why Women Should Go to the Gym

Losing the Belly Fat is not Possible

The Most Important Thing in Bodybuilding

Article by Craig Wilson

5 Tips to Get Even Bigger

Besides the classic bodybuilding tips that everyone gives you about workouts and exercises, here are some about the diet you need to get huge! These tips are given by the National NPC Champion of USA – Steve Kuclo:

1. EAT! You need food, food and even more food to grow! Make sure that you have plenty of proteins and that each meal contains a high quality source of protein. Also never skip a meal!

2. If you find it difficult to eat so much, do more cardio! First add some extra 30 minutes of cardio twice a week, and go as far as 5 times per week if necessary. Cardio exercises will boost your metabolism and increase your appetite! 

3. Also eat plenty of carbohydrates to have energy during the intense workouts and to recover afterwards. The carbs that you need to avoid during a diet ARE allowed in the bulking period. Complex carbs like pastas or simple ones like white rice and fruits are great for the off-season period.

4. It’s better to eat whole food because it contains much more nutrients than you will ever find in a shake. Protein shakes and other supplements can be taken between meals, and whenever you don’t have access to "real" food.

5. Enjoy life! Cheat from time to time with a unhealthy meal like pizza, cakes, fast food or anything else that you enjoy. But make sure to keep them under control and don’t let them distract you from your goal.

If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips and for a complex fitness program that includes exercises, routines, diets and much more, we highly recommend you this:  Muscle Gaining Secrets - The hardgainer solution! 

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3 Steps for a Skinny Guy to Gain Muscle

Article by Craig Wilson

Cardio or Weights? Which one to do First?

Physical exercises are extremely important for keeping your weight under control because they are burning calories during and after the workout. But the big question is: are you burning more calories as a result of a resistance training before the weights training? Or is it better to use the weights first, and do the cardio after? 

Portuguese scientists have discovered that the order of the exercises doesn’t have any effect on the burned calories! 

Doing both types of exercises (cardio and weight training) is much more important  than their order! So train hard, lift weights, but also do cardio and results will show! Not only that you will burn more calories but you will also build muscle and strengthen your entire body. (Journal Strength Condit. Research 25: 2843-2850, 2011)

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Losing the Belly Fat is not Possible

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Losing Belly Fat is Not Possible!

… by doing only sit-ups and leg raises! 

Wouldn’t it be great if you could lose the belly fat by doing exercises specially made for this? Wouldn’t it be great if you were making 50 sit-ups and 50 leg raises each day and the belly fat would just melt away? Unfortunately this is just fantasy. Any fitness specialist or doctor would tell you that burning the fat on specific body parts that you choose is not possible, and by doing hundreds of sit-ups each day you won’t get a six pack abs! Blood doesn’t get to the fat tissue and to the muscles through the same sources , so when we work our muscles they are using the fat from the whole body as the source of energy (Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 292, E394, 2007) 

A six weeks study made at the Southern Illinois University showed that a large number of abs exercises didn’t had any effect on losing weight, losing overall fat, belly fat or reducing waist size. The subjects had only improved their capacity and resistance on making high intensity workouts for the abs. During the study, the subjects haven’t made any efforts in trying to reduce calories, or eat healthy food that helps burning fat. The conclusion of the study was that sit-ups and other abs exercises are simply not enough for burning body fat. (The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: 25, 2559-2564, 2011).

In order to lose weight, burn the body fat and especially the one from your abs, you need to make much more than some sit-ups and leg raises. You need to have intense workouts at the gym, to work your entire body, to combine strength workouts with cardio and the most important: to have a strict and specific diet! If you want to find more info about this topic, we highly recommend you the book of Tom Venuto, one of the bests that you can find on losing weight. Simply visit this page but  please come back later and tell us your results.

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Cardio or Weights? Which one to do first?

The South Beach Diet (recipes and tips)

Article by Craig Wilson

The South Beach diet (recipes and tips)

Whether you are a normal person wanting to lose weight and burn some body fat, or a professional athlete wanting to get in the best shape, you can use one of the best and most popular diets in the world: the South Beach diet. 

As it’s name says, it originates from the warm and sunny South Beach and it was designed by the by cardiologist Arthur Agatston along with the dietician Marie Almon. It was originally made for preventing heart diseases, but quickly it became popular for losing weight. 

 

It is kind of similar with the Atkins diet, only it is more permissive with the carbohydrates. It is split into 3 phases, each one having allowed and forbidden aliments. The main ideas of the South Beach diet are:

1. You don’t need to measure quantities and calories

2. You must eat very slowly, allowing the message that you are full to get to the brain. So this way you will eat less

3. You need to have 3 main dishes during the day, and to drink a lot of water. But the great part is that you are also allowed to have some healthy snacks between meals.

4. Salads and other dishes are prepared only by using olive oil

5. The carbs that you can eat must come only from whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Phase 1: it lasts for 2 weeks and is the most restrictive one! In this phase you are not allowed to eat bread, corn, cereals, potatoes, cheese, fat milk, alcohol, carrots or beet. 

And now here are some examples of foods that you can eat, a different meal plan for each day of the week:

Day 1: 

Breakfast:  - 2 boiled eggs or omelet with some ham

                  - coffee or tea without any sugar

Lunch: - grilled chicken breast

           - vegetables salad with olive oil and squeezed lemon or boiled vegetables

Dinner: - grilled fish

            - a salad containing tomatoes, cucumbers and light cheese
As snacks between meals you can have some low fat cheese. 
 

Day 2: 

Breakfast: - omelet with mushrooms and low fat cheese

                - coffee or tea without any sugar  

Lunch: - grilled chicken breast

- mixed salad

Dinner: - grilled chicken or beef

            - a few vegetables with olive oil

As snacks between meals you can have 20 hazelnuts or vegetables salad.

Day 3: 

Breakfast: - 150 ml of tomato juice

                - omelet with mushrooms and ham

                - coffee without any sugar

Lunch: - vegetables salad with boiled chicken breast

Dinner: - grilled chicken breast with grilled mushrooms

As snacks between meals you can have some low fat cheese or some pistachio. 

Stay tuned for the second part of the South Beach diet (recipes and tips)...coming soon!


Also Read:

Losing the Belly Fat is Not Possible

Cardio or Weights? Which one to do first?

Article by Craig Wilson

3 Steps for a Skinny Guy to Gain Muscle

In case you are a skinny guy and your biggest question is: “can a skinny guy gain muscle?” you should know that the answer is YES! There are many success stories out there, including mine (read more about it here) so we know for sure that things can be done. In this article I will present to you the 3 main steps that a skinny guy needs to follow in order to gain quality muscles!

The exercises

There are so many bodybuilding exercises to choose from, but not all of them will work for a tall, skinny guy. The main thing you should do is stick to the compound exercises and use mostly free weights. All of those fancy machines found in the modern gyms won’t help you at all! Some of the exercises that must be included in your workout are: the squats, the deadlifts, the biceps hammer curl, the incline bench press, the leg press and a few more others. But as I’ve said before, the main idea is to do the basic, compound exercises (those that work more muscle groups at the same time), and to stick to dumbbells and barbells.

 

The workouts

Of course you don’t have to do all the exercises mentioned above in the same day, and you need to have a very well defined program. You don’t need to go to the gym each and every day, and one training per week won’t be enough either. The most common routine for most of the people consists of 3 or 4 sessions each week. There are many workouts to choose from, and the main idea is to work 2-3 muscular groups per workout (a large group and a smaller one), to make 3 exercises for the big group and 2 for the smaller one and to train for about 1,5-2 hours. An example of a weekly routine would be:

Day 1: Back + Triceps

Day 2: Chest + Biceps

Day 3: Legs + Shoulders

For a more complex bodybuilding program that includes exercises, routines, diets and many more, we definitely recommend the "Muscle Gaining Secrets" program! 

 

The diet

The main idea here is to: eat a lot! Since you are a tall and skinny guy and you also have a fast metabolism you can eat just about anything. The main component of your diet should  be the proteins – chicken or fish meat, eggs, cheese, milk, yoghurts and some vegetables too. To gain muscles you also need to eat a lot of carbohydrates, fruits & vegetables and also healthy fats.

As I’ve said, these are just the main ideas and things are much more complex. If you want to get deeper in this topic and to find out all there is to know about gaining muscle for skinny guys (exercises, workouts and diets) simply join the program of Vince del Monte. As I’ve said in a previous article, he is my raw model and he really helped me a lot! So you can trust him too! ;)

Article by Craig Wilson

The Most Important Thing in Bodybuilding!

Whether you want to gain mass or to lose weight, the most important thing in bodybuilding is the MOTIVATION! There are tens of fitness exercises that you can do, hundreds of  workouts and lots of diets that you can try. And most of them will probably have results, whether you want to put on some muscles or to burn some fat. But results won’t come over night, and you will need to work hard and constant over a long period of time. And as time goes by you will inevitably lose your motivation.

 

So you will need something that will constantly keep you motivated and will make you want to go to the gym each and every time. Most of us are full time employees and we all know the feeling we have after a long day at work: all we want is to get home, to lay on the bed, watch TV and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. This happens especially if you have a boring job that you don’t like…by the way, I’m a full time accountant so imagine how motivated I am after 8-10 hours of routine work. But luckily for me, I have a raw model - a person that always gets me motivated and gives me the energy to get up and go straight to the gym. And he is Vince del Monte. 

Vince helped in 2 ways! First of all he helped to get from a really tall and skinny guy to a normal guy with some muscles too. I’ll leave Vince beside for some moments and get back to me. I am 6.3 feet tall (that means 1m 92 cm) and believe it or not, I used to weigh just 152 lbs (69 kg). Besides being so tall, I have the worst genetics ever, and my body is simply not made for having muscles and strength. So by carefully following the Muscle Building Program of Vince I managed to gain 44 lbs (20 kg) of muscle mass in 2 years. Now at the same height of 6.3 feet I have a weight of 198 lbs (90 kg) which I think is so much better for my height. I’m not saying that I look like a professional bodybuilder, but now I’m normal and I’m definitely not ashamed to show my body at the beach, at the swimming pool or anywhere else…and even the clothes look better on me :)  And below you can see a picture of my transformation: 

 

As I’ve said before, it took me 2 years to gain those 44 lbs (20 kg). At the beginning I was really motivated and I wanted to go each and every day to the gym. But after one year I began losing my enthusiasm, and besides that I also got a full time job. Luckily for me, Vince is offering so much stuff to his fans so I managed to stay motivated the whole time. Before each session at the gym I watch one of Vince’s videos, read one of his articles or read some pages from his books.

So the conclusion is: choose your raw model! And each time you lose your motivation, or when you simply feel lazy to go to the gym - think of him/her. You can choose any bodybuilder, fitness model or sportsman in the world - the important thing is to like him and to appreciate his work.  In case you will choose Vince del Monte as your model, feel free to check his videos from the “Live Large” series (I really love them and Season 1 is free, while Season 2 is just 7$) or even better become a full member and benefit from all of his stuff (books, articles, videos and many more).

Article by Craig Wilson

20 Bodybuilding Tips for Beginners!

In case you are new to bodybuilding, here are some useful tips that might help you to gain more muscle and to look amazing!

1. Don’t get distracted by all the fancy machines found in modern gyms! Stick to free weights! Dumbbells and barbells are the most effective for building mass!

2. At least in the first 6 months perform only the basic exercises for mass and strength!   

3. Have a strict program and stick to it! When you enter the gym, you should already have in mind what you are going to do in that day (exercises, series, number of reps etc).

4. Split your training routine into 3 or 4 sessions per week.

5. Four days is more than enough for a beginner, so you don’t need to go at the gym every day! In order to grow, your muscles need to rest and recover!

 6. Too many days at the gym are not good, but too less won’t help you either! Work each muscular group at least once every week!

7. Your program should definitely include squats and deadlifts! These are some of the best exercises of all! They will involve your entire body, and will give you strength and mass!

8. In the first sessions at the gym use small weights, and make sure that you learn the correct form for all the exercises!

9.  Only after you know how to perform each exercise increase the weight!

10. For all the mass exercises that you do, increase the weight periodically! You don’t need to do lots of reps (8-10 are enough) but you need to use big loads. This will give you strength, and will finally force the muscles to grow!

 

11. When using heavy weights, use a safety belt for protecting your lower back! You might not have back problems now, but you don’t want to have them later!

12. If you want to gain a lot of muscular mass, and especially if you are skinny, eat a lot!

13. Eat often! Have at least 5 meals / day – one meal every 3-4 hours!

14. You don’t want to feel hungry, because it means that your body will start consuming your muscles

15. Stay away from junk food and lots of sweets! It’s true that you want to put some pounds on, but you don’t want to gain fat either!

16. Eat a lot of proteins! Great sources include chicken, fish, milk, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, soy as well as some vegetables.

17. Also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables in order to stay healthy and offer your body the vitamins and minerals it needs.

18. If you want better results use supplements, but definitely stay away from steroids!

19. Sleep at least 8 hours each night! Your muscles don't grow when you train at the gym, but when you sleep. So make sure you get enough of it.

20. Now you are an athlete so you need to act accordingly! Have a healthy lifestyle, so avoid as much as possible alcohol, smoking and lots of wasted nights in the club!

Article by Craig Wilson